eChapters

In this chapter, a comprehensive list of all plants and trees mentioned in epic Ramayana has been furnished with salient details in order to establish their botanical identity and references of Sholka where it had been mentioned. Some of the plants and trees had been mentioned in multiple sholokas but the plant has been taken into account as a single reference to avoid repetition and to get correct count of the trees and plants in whole of the Epic (Amirthalingam, 2013, Arun Kumar, 2019; Balapure et al., 1987; Bast, 2022; Ghimire et.al, 2021; Mao and Dash, 2010; Prasad and Mishra, 1976).

The plant species mentioned in Ramayana were of different types having various usages. Considering their morphological characteristics, usages and other importance, they have been categorized broadly into the following heads.

1. Economically important plants (Timber value, product yielding etc. having commercial importance).

2. Edible (major and minor fruits etc.).

3. Culturally important plants (Plants used for plantation for shade, greening etc.).

4. Non-Edible Plants (Ornamental importance and other usages)

5. Medicinal Plants (having therapeutic uses).

6. Sacred Plants (having religious importance).

7. Others (having multipurpose uses).

1.1     Forest Resources
    
1.2     Uses of Forest
    
1.3     Deforestation and its Effects
    
1.4     Water Resources
        
    1.4.1 Water Conflicts
    1.4.2 Dams Conflicts
    
1.5    Drought
    1.5.1 Regions of Drought in the World
    1.5.2 Effects of Drought
    
1.6     Flood
    
1.7    Environmental Effects of Mineral Resources
    
1.8    Food Rseources
    1.8.1 Technological Improvements in Food Production
    1.8.2 Environmental Issues Related to Increased Production
    
1.9    Overgrazing and its Effects
    
1.10    Impacts of Intensive Farming on Soil and Water Resources
    
1.11    Effects of Agricultural Chemicals on the Environment
    
1.12    Energy Sources
    
1.13    Waterlogging
    
1.14    Land Resources
    
1.15    Land Degradation
    
1.16    Soil Erosion
    1.16.1 Types of Erosion
    
1.17     Desertification
    1.17.1 Causes of Desertification
    1.17.2 Effects of Desertification
    
1.18    Conservation of Natural Resources
    1.18.1 Conflicts
    1.18.2 Challenges and Methods

4.1    Urban Issues
    
4.2    Environmental Ethics - Issues and Possible Solutions
    
4.3    Water Conservation
    4.3.1 Rainwater Harvesting
    
4.4    Greenhouse Gases and their Sources
    4.4.1 Climate Change
    4.4.2 Global Warming
    4.4.3 The Greenhouse Effect
    4.4.4 Consequences of the Greenhouse Effect
    4.4.5 Acid Rain, 176
    
4.5    Ozone Layer Depletion
    
4.6    Nuclear Accidents
    
4.7    Waste Reclamation
    
4.8    Consumerism and Waste
    
4.9    Forest (Conservation) Act 1980
    
4.10    Wildlife Protection Act
    
4.11    The Air  (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1981
    
4.12    Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974
    4.13    The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
    4.14    Environmental  Laws

1.1 Forest Resources

Forest resources usually provide the raw materials for homes, workplaces, the books and newspapers, and the packaging that contains food and other products of our labor. Forest ecosystems supply our water, maintain our climate, and help purify the air, protect soils, and provide for wilderness experiences. Forests provide habitat for wildlife, and serve as preserves of biological diversity. Forests are sources of food, fuel and medicine for people all over the world. Forests shape the recreational landscape, help stabilize our farms, and enhance our cities.

About 30 per cent of the world’s total land areas are covered by forest with the area of 3.9 billion hectares. Nearly 47 percent of the world’s forests are in the tropics, 33 percent in the boreal zone, 11 percent in the temperate zones, and 9 percent in sub-tropical areas. The 94 million hectares of forest lost over the ten-year period, represented about 2 per cent of the world’s total forest cover, or an area larger than Venezuela. Two thirds of the world’s forests are located in ten countries: the Russian Federation, Brazil, Canada, the United States, China, Australia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, Angola and Peru. Most of the deforestation work was performed in natural tropical forests, which lost 14.2 million hectares a year over the last decade. Africa and South America have suffered the most deforestation.

Africa was the region with the highest deforestation in the world, which lost 5.3 million hectares of forest per year in the 1990s. Forests are a major factor in the climate change issue. Forest ecosystems contain more than half of all terrestrial carbon, and account for about 80 per cent of the exchange of carbon between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. Deforestation in the 1980s may have accounted for a quarter of all human-induced carbon emissions, the second greatest emitter after fossil fuels. Forest plantations comprise 5 percent of the world’s forests. Asia has the largest area of plantations, accounting for 62 per cent of the world total. China accounts for 24 percent of that total and India, 18 per cent. Plantations supply about 35 percent of the world’s round wood. The area of forest plantations increased by an average of 3 to 4 million hectares per year during the 1990s. Half of this increase was the result of afforestation on land previously under non-forest land use, whereas the other half resulted from conversion of natural forest. There are reports that 12 percent of the world’s forests, or about 480 million hectares, are in protected areas.

4.1 Urban Issues

(i) Water Problem

The world’s population is increasingly found in the cities. Now a days, throughout the developing world, urbanization trends are gaining speed and are irreversible. From a technical standpoint, it is easier to provide water and sanitation services to people living closer together in urban settings than in dispersed rural communities. However, the costs of meeting the needs are much higher per capita, and are growing. The health risks posed by the lack of sanitation increase exponentially as densities increase and as people share drinking water and sanitation resources.

The urban environmental sanitation crisis in developing countries is taking a large health, economic, and environmental toll on all city residents. Willingness to pay for basic water and sanitation services is often high in peri- urban neighbourhoods, provided that services are appropriate, effective, and affordable. The use of a strategic sanitation approach should helps to build capacity within implementing agencies and enhances the ability of communities to make sustainable sanitation improvements.

(ii) Energy Problem

Energy is basic to development. Modern energy services are powerful engine of economic and social opportunity: no country has managed to develop much beyond a subsistence economy without ensuring at least minimum access to energy services for a broad section of its population. It is not surprising to find, therefore, that the billion who live in developing countries attach a high priority to energy services. On average, these people spend nearly 12% of their income on energy. At the same time, the provision of energy services especially through the combustion of fossil fuels and biomass can create adverse environmental effects. In rich countries, much attention is directed to the regional and global consequences of fuel combustion, because many of the local effects have been controlled at considerable expense over the past half- century. In developing countries, the local environmental problems associated with energy use remain matters of concern that are as, or even more, urgent than they were in industrialized countries 50 or 100 years ago. Further, it is the poor who suffer most severely from such problems, because it is they who are forced to rely upon the most inefficient and polluting sources of energy services for lack of access to better alternatives.

Summary

Water security can be defined as reliable availability of water in sufficient quantity and quality to sustain human health, livelihoods, food (agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture) and the environment (biodiversity and ecosystems). Discharge of chemical and biological pollutants (from agriculture, industry and domestic uses) into rivers and development of engineering infrastructure such as dams and weirs over rivers have modified river ecosystems threatening the global water security, water quality and water dependent biodiversity. Climate change (increase in the intensity and frequency of floods, droughts, bushfire and sea-level rise, ocean acidification, etc.) is an additional stress on water security. There is a need to reduce climate change impacts on water security which can be done via adaptations to climate change. Adaptation is adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities. In other words, the adaptation can be considered as, tackling the effects of climate change. Adaptation to climate change in terms of sustainable use of water may include increasing water availability by developing hydro-basins and transferring water from areas in which it is abundant to areas in which there is scarcity, the reduction of water losses, increasing storage capacity by building reservoirs and dams, rainwater harvesting, improvement of water use efficiency, desalination of seawater, water savings (leakage management, metering, retrofitting existing homes with water efficient products in toilets, showers, baths, using energy efficient dishwashers and washing machines), mandatory rainwater tanks in new and old buildings (for toilet flushing, washing clothes, gardens, car washing), use of recycled or reclaimed water for landscape irrigation or to recharge groundwater aquifers, and to meet commercial and industrial water needs.

Environmental contaminants are defined as substances introduced into the environment, either naturally or anthropogenically, that pose potentialharm to living organisms and ecosystems (Masindi and Muedi, 2018).These contaminants include a diverse range of pollutants, such as chemicalagents, biological contaminants and physical pollutants (Ahmed et al.,2021). Understanding these contaminants and their toxicity is of paramountimportance, given their profound implications on human health, biodiversityand the overall functioning of ecosystems (Samuel et al., 2023).Environmental contaminations are pervasive in nature and originated fromdiverse sources. Industrial activities are major contributors, releasing heavymetals, organic solvents, and particulate matter into air, water and soil(Williams, 2019). Similarly, agricultural practices contribute to contaminationthrough excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides, which often runoff intoaquatic systems, causing eutrophication and harming aquatic life (Zahoor and
Mushtaq, 2023). Urbanization and improper waste management have alsointensified the problem with plastics and emerging contaminants finding theirway into ecosystems (Singh et al., 2022). Even natural events like volcaniceruptions and forest fires contribute to environmental contamination, thoughtheir impacts are often localized and episodic compared to the persistent andwidespread pollution caused by human activities (Ernst, 2012).The study of environmental contaminants and their toxic effects is of vitalimportance for several reasons in today’s context of escalating global pollution(Hussain and Reza, 2023). First, it provides insights into the health risks posedto humans and wildlife (Pereira et al., 2015). Many contaminants, such as lead,mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), are known to have chronic andacute toxic effects on biological systems, affecting neurological, reproductivand immune functions (Priyadarshanee et al., 2022). These substances interactwith biological systems in complex ways, often leading to adverse outcomessuch as bioaccumulation, oxidative stress, endocrine disruption and ecologicalimbalances (Satkar et al., 2024). Heavy metals like lead and mercury are
known to accumulate in organisms and disrupt critical biological functions,while synthetic chemicals like bisphenol A (BPA) can interfere with hormonalsystems, resulting in reproductive and developmental issues (Pan et al., 2024).Such impacts underscore the need to understand how these substances interactwith living organisms, identify their exposure thresholds and mechanisms oftoxicity to formulate strategies for risk assessment and mitigation (Kumar andSingh, 2023).

1.    Introduction    71
2.    Microorganisms in Food Industry    72
    2.1.    Microorganisms as the agents of fermentation in  
        traditional fermented foods, 73
    2.2.    Microorganisms as the source of food, 83
    2.3.    Microorganisms as a source of food supplements, 86

3.    Microorganisms in Pharmaceutical Industry    92

    3.1.    Antimicrobial agents from microorganisms, 92
    3.2.     Microorganisms as probiotics, 97
    3.3.    Microbial enzymes in  pharmaceuticals, 98
    3.4.    Mushroom nutriceuticals, 98

1.    Introduction    174
2.    The Thermodynamic and Mechanistic basis of Cellular Metabolism    174

    2.1.      Adenosine triphosphate, 175
    2.2.    Coenzyme A, 176
    2.3.    Modes of ATP synthesis, 177

3.      Components of Electron Transport Chain    181

    3.1.    Electron carriers in ETC, 182
    3.2.    Complex I - NADH dehydrogenase (NADH coenzyme Q reductase), 185
    3.3.    Complex II - Succinate - coenzyme Q reductase, 187
    3.4.    Complex III - Coenzyme Q - cytochrome c reductase, 187
    3.5.    Complex IV - Cytochrome c oxidase, 188
    3.6.    ATP synthese, 188

1.    Introduction    302
2.    Raw Materials for Alcohol Production    304

    2.1.    Sugary substrates, 306
    2.2.    Starchy residues (cereal grains), 309
    2.3.    Cellulosic materials (crop residues), 314

3.    Microorganisms for Alcohol Production    316

    3.1.    Comparision of ethanol production by bacteria and yeasts, 318

Key facts
    
•    Pesticides are chemicals that are broadly used to protect crops, livestock and other animals and plants from pests and diseases. They are classified according to the type of pest to be controlled (algicides, herbicides, fungicides and insecticides).
    
•    Commercial production of DDT began in 1943. At that time, DDT was considered to be a wonderful invention. It was cheap to produce, very toxic to insects and much less toxic to mammals and its usage resulted in a sharp decline of mosquito borne diseases. In 1962, it was discovered that DDT was causing egg-shell thinning in bird eggs and thus was leading to the near extinction of bird species such as peregrine falcons and bald eagles.
    
•    Pesticides use has greatly helped to increase and improve the world food production. Use of pesticides also increases farmer’s profits by preventing crop losses due to pest attacks and weed infestation.

Hybridization is a potent technique to create variability for selection and breaking yield barriers, evolve varieties having built in high potential. The selection of suitable parents for hybridization is one of the most important step in hybridization program. Selection of parents on the basis of phenotypic performance alone is not a sound procedure since phenotypically superior lines may yield poor recombinations in the segregating generations. It is therefore essential that parents are chosen on the basis of their genetic value. Some of the commonly utilized techniques for assessing the genetic value of a genotype are:

8.1 Introduction

The concept of social justice led to a raise the standard of living of the masses. This is only possible by meeting the energy needs of industry, agriculture, transport and domestic use. The energy of demand has been increasing tremendously all over the world science mid – nineteenth century due to rise in industrial and agricultural activities and was being met to a great extent by fossil fuels.

Three factors led the mankind to look for alternative renewable sources of energy like solar, wind, hydro etc. (1) there is a danger that the rate at which the non renewable sources of energies are being consumed presently may lead to a global shortage in the near future. This has already happen in case of oil. (2) Use of fossil fuel involves emission of toxic gases polluting the environment causing health hazards of living being. and (3) the demand and supply gas of energy is continuously widening, thus necessitating to exploit renewable sources of energy.

Out of various renewable energy sources, solar energy has been a promising one and lot of development has been taken in its technology for various uses. The numbers of technology engaged in developing solar energy for meaningful use are aiming to achieve the following objectives-

1.    Introduction    3
2.    History and Scope of Microbiology    4
    2.1.    Controversy over the origin of microorganisms, 5
    2.2.    Germ theory of fermentation, 6
    2.3.    Germ theory of disease, 6
    2.4.    Development of laboratory techniques and pure cultures, 7
    2.5.    Discovery of immunization, 7
    2.6.    Discovery of protection against infection, 8
    2.7.    Discovery of chemotherapeutic agents, 8
    2.8.    Microorganisms as geochemical agents, 9

Summary

Biodiversity (the variety of living things) is fundamental to ecosystem structures and functions, and provide the broad spectrum of goods and services that humans derive from natural systems such as food (e.g. fish), protection from disasters such as cyclones, storms, floods (e.g. mangroves) or maintenance of water quality. Species (biodiversity) respond to climate change either staying or moving out or dying out. For example, the rise of temperature as a consequence of climate change may cause some species to (a) stay in the same environment since they can tolerate to adapt to changes; or (b) may cause some species to move out in a suitable environment (e.g. some species to move pole ward, some up in elevation) or (c) some species (fish) to go deep to increased depths in the oceans to escape heat or warming or (d) may cause some species to die out or get extinct (species with restricted distribution, longer generation time will not be able to migrate or adapt to climate change). A pattern of range shifts such as pole wards and upwards has been documented in hundreds of species of plants and animals and is one of the strongest signals of biotic changes from global warming. These shifts result from two processes: cold-edge expansion and warm-edge contraction. There is now abundant evidence for local extinctions from contractions at the warm edges of species’ ranges or warm edge contraction because the species may have already reached the limits of their climatic tolerance. Investigations conducted reveals that many terrestrial and aquatic species are shifting their geographic ranges in response to rapid changes in temperature and precipitation regimes. For example, many terrestrial organisms are currently shifting in latitude or elevation in response to changing climate. It has been estimated that plants and animals have recently shifted to higher elevations at a median rate of 11.0 m per decade, and to higher latitudes at a median rate of 16.9 km per decade.

There is widespread belief now that forests can be used to reduce the costs of slowing climate change. While the role of forests in the global carbon cycle has long been acknowledged, recent discussions within the context of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as efforts to write climate change legislation in the United States, have emphasized the role forests might play. The most recent policy efforts have focused on near-term actions to reduce deforestation in tropical countries. The rationale for considering forests at all in the policy mix stems partly from the physical components of the issue. The world’s forest estate is exceedingly large:

Key facts

Freshwater biotoxins

    
•    Biotoxins are naturally occurring toxic compounds produced by some freshwater cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) and marine algal species (dinoflagellates, diatoms).
    
•    Cyanobacteria are now recognised as a serious water quality problem with regard to drinking water supply and recreational use.
    
•    Environmental conditions that can promote cyanobacterial/blue-green algal blooms are: excessive nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen); warm water temperatures (15-30OC); sunlight for photosynthesis; and quiescent or stagnant water.
    
•    Outbreak of human poisoning attributed to cyanobacteria are neurotoxins (e.g. anatoxin-a, anatoxin-a(s), saxitoxins) and hepatotoxins (e.g. microcystins, nodularin) produced by some strains of the cyanobacteria including Microcystis, Anabaena, Aphanizomenon spp.

Summary

Climate change can affect the quantitative and qualitative status of water resources by altering hydrological cycles, systems and through changes of water quality via chemical and biological contamination. Changes in these variables lead to impacts on all the socio-economic and environmental goods and services that depend on these variables directly or indirectly including water supply, damage to ecosystems, water dependent food production. The most dominant climate drivers for water quantity or water availability are precipitation, run-off and river flows, floods, droughts, snows, glaciers, sea level rise etc. The observed climate change related impacts on world’s water resources/water quantity include increased precipitation at high latitudes and temperate areas and decreasing trends at low latitudes. The annual run-off in some regions may experience increased run-off, such as in high latitudes and large parts of the USA, whereas there has been a decrease in run-off such as parts of West Africa, southern Europe and southernmost of South America. Floods have been the most reported natural disaster events in Africa, Asia and Europe than all other natural disasters and in case of Bangladesh, six extreme floods have occurred in the last two decades. More intense droughts have been reported from Australia, semi-arid and semi-humid regions, western USA and southern Canada, the Sahel. Precipitation is projected to increase at mid- and high latitudes, in the tropics, whereas precipitation is projected to decrease over many sub-tropical areas (North Africa, northern Sahara), tropical Central American (Caribbean) and the Mediterranean. In areas where evaporation rates are expected to increase it would lead to reduced river and stream run-off. In contrast, areas receiving higher precipitation would likely have higher lake and river levels and may experience floods. The annual stream flow in the Murray-Darling basin (Australia) is projected to fall by 10-25% by 2050 and 16-48% by 2100 which would have severe consequences on irrigated agriculture in the region. Rivers depending on the Himalayan glaciers such as the Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Syr Darya and Amu Darya could face water shortages or river run-off due to retreat of glaciers, and this would cause dramatic impact on drinking water supplies, biodiversity, hydropower, industry, agriculture and ecosystems on which about 2.4 billion people in Asia depends. Globally, ground water is the source of one third of all freshwater withdrawals, supplying an estimated 36%, 42% and 27% of the water used for domestic, agricultural and industrial purposes, respectively. The demand for groundwater is likely to increase due to global increase of water use for irrigation and a decline in surface water quality and reduced summer flows in snow-dominated basins. It is projected that climate change (drought, floods) will affect groundwater recharge rates (e.g. floods would increase recharge, drought would decrease recharge).

3.1    Air Pollution
    3.1.1 Classification of Air Pollutants
    3.1.2  Properties of Air Pollutants
    3.1.3  Health Effects
    3.1.4 Particulate Pollution Control Equipments
    3.1.5 Gaseous Pollution Control Equipments
    
3.2    Water Pollution
    3.2.1 Causes of Pollution
    3.2.2 Origin of Wastewater
    3.2.3 Waste Water Composition
    3.2.4 Types of Water Pollutants
    3.2.5 Basic Processes of Water Treatment
    
3.3    Land
    
3.4    Marine Pollution
    3.4.1 Sources and Effects of Marine Pollution Toxics
    3.4.2 Control Measures
    
3.5    Noise
    3.5.1 Effects of Noise
    3.5.2 Major Noise Sources
    3.5.3 Noise Control Measures
    
3.6    Thermal Pollution
    3.6.1 Effects of Thermal Pollution
    
3.7     Nuclear Hazards
    3.7.1 Nuclear Weapons
    3.7.2 Types of Nuclear Bursts
    3.7.3 Nuclear Injuries
    3.7.4 Residual Radiation
    
3.8    Nuclear Waste and their Treatment
    
3.9    Solid Waste Management
    3.9.1 Role of Human in Prevention of Pollution
    
3.10    Disaster Management
    3.10.1 Floods
    3.10.2 Earthquake
    3.10.3 Cyclone
    3.10.4 Landslides